Saturday, November 30, 2013

If you're into Health and Beauty products, you're probably just as obsessed with finding products that are good for your skin as I am. And by good, I mean organic, gluten free and nutritious! Michael Todd's beauty products are AMAZING! They don't contain any harsh chemicals, they're organically based and proven to be highly effective - I mean, just take a look at the rave reviews! I am so happy to have discovered this brand and can't wait to try more of their products.

Here are some of the products to take into consideration, though you are welcome to pick any other three products from their website!

Peppermint Body Bar Soap: $7.00

Forget your morning coffee! Organic peppermint leaf and menthol combine with soothing essential oils in this 85% organic bar soap. A refreshing and invigorating wake me up and great way to start the morning.A beautiful bar that lathers and smells great; a delight for all your senses. Once you've tried our soap, you will never go back to plain old soap again. I'm just sayin'. For all skin types.

Extra-gentle skin treatment that hydrates and firms as it exfoliates using the power of Herbal Pearl and Silk Amino Acids to purify and give the skin a very soft and velvety feel. Mild action and the presence of natural soothing agents reduce irritation and inflammation associated with sensitive skin. Exfoliates, moisturizes and firms, improves elasticity and pliability of the skin, unclogs pores allowing skin to breathe and facilitates movement of skin oils. Turns lackluster looking skin into healthier younger looking skin.

Directions: After cleansing, apply an even layer over face and neck. Avoid eye area. Leave on for 10-15 minutes and rinse. Follow with toner and moisturizer. May be used 2 or 3 times a week.

Naturally fruity refreshing skin treatment that uses the power of Papaya and Pineapple Enzymes as a mild non-irritating exfoliant to remove dead skin, impurities and toxins without irritation caused by scrubbing. Exfoliates, moisturizes and firms, improves elasticity and pliability of the skin, unclogs pores allowing skin to breathe and facilitates movement of skin oils.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Today we have something very special for you - and right in time for Christmas Shopping! We have the pleasure of hostingan awesome International giveaway for SammyDress.com!

Sammy Dress is an online fashion storethat offers a huge selection of beautiful, girly and vintagy products from clothin to jewellery, bags, shoes and more! And yes, they even have some gorgeous stuff for your boyfriends and husbands there, too!

The giveaway will run for 30 days and you can win any item from the store - your choice, but up to $20. Or you can opt out for a $20 Gift Card and get more than just one thing! Shipping covered! And the best part? Seeing how fantastically affordable all their items are, I'm sure you can find many great things for yourself! :)

Before we move on to the giveaway, though, I'd like to show you some of my personal favorites from the store!

If you click on the pictures, you'll be taken to the store and you can take a closer look at all the shinies and pretties :) And I know what you're thining... $20 isn't going to get you any of these... WRONG! These are all less than $20 each!!! I kid you not!

Let's talk handbags and totes.. ;)

SammyDress.com has some of the cutest, most gorgeous bags ever! And most of them are less than $10 each, which means you can totally get one for yourself and one for your friend! How awesome is that?! Take a look at these pretties!

And last, but not least,some truly fabulous jewellery/accessory pieces :) These are all SUPER affordable, so you could seriously get a ton and look super fab! :) Make sure to browse the website for your own favorite pieces, they have SOOOO MUCH to offer! :)

Giveaway:

This is an INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAYends: December 26th

You will be emailed by me (Evie) if you win and you'll let me know which items (up to $20) you'd like to get! Please note: I am not responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail!

This Sunday we decided to explore our area a bit. We wanted to find a dog-friendly park around Williamsville, NY, that would make for a nice hiking / relaxing spot :) And we scored!!!

Darien Lakes State Park is a really small but cozy park that - in addition to some hiking and horseback riding trails - has a large campground, nice little lake (with a beach!) and really well-maintained picnic area.

We will definitely be coming back here in the Summer time for a short camping trip with Wilson and Victoria :)

The terrain of Darien Lakes State Park is described as "hilly with woodlands, ravines, streams and 12-acre Harlow Lake".

I am not sure about the hilly part, as it is mostly flat, but it might be just my skewed perspective (having lived in Vancouver, Canada for three years, I am used to REAL mountains and hills).

It's definitely green and beautiful, though. The lake is very picturesque with a small island connected by a bridge.

The campground is equipped with electricity. There are also heated comfort stations with showers and flush toilets (you can't appreciate these enough until you spend some time in Candian Rockies, where many of the toilets are just a step above a hole in the ground).

In Winter, many of the trails are open for hiking, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling - fun!

While pets are welcome, there are some restrictions.

As specified on the Darien Lakes State Park website: "Household pets only; caged or on a leash not more than 6 feet. Proof of rabies inoculation. Not allowed in bathing areas, cabins or Darien Lakes day-use area. For campers, if your site allows pets, there is a two-pet maximum."

Our alternative to our regular iPhone 5 PC Ultra Thin Cases. This quirky case has a full back created from real bamboo, while still retaining the great attributes of the hard PC case. These include resilience against scratches, bumps and scrapes. It protects the delicate corners and edges of your iPhone.

Our logo is pressed into the rear of the bamboo and really adds a different finish and feel to the case. Bamboo was selected because of its distinctive look and the hugely sustainable nature it offers as a material.

My Thoughts:

Compared to other bamboo cases that I have used, The Snugg case feels slimmer and lighter in my hand and because the bamboo part is one solid piece unlike other ones that have a round hole or a seam, the case is better adapted to my hand and much more comfortable. Also the thin bamboo mimics the texture of the original aluminum back very well; I sometimes forget that I have a case on my phone.

As much as I like the feel of wood, most cases that are made entirely from bamboo make the phone look like a furniture or an old radio. But Snugg struck right balance between organic feel and its looks with black polycarbonate finishing around the bamboo plate. The black carbonate does not feel plasticy at all and matte finish looks much better than in picture. It also complements the real bamboo part seamlessly, covering all four corners and slightly raised on its sides for protection.

The case is available in black and white, but even the black case looks great on my white iPhone, and I can only imagine how well it will match a black one.

Overall, The Snugg White PC Case with real Bamboo rear for iPhone 5 is a fantastic product. Having used Bamboo Cases before, I can say that this is by far my favorite case. It's light, chic and offers a really good protection for your device. I'd definitely recommend it to all my friends and blog followers. If you're looking for a reasonably priced, quality product, The Snugg is the company for you.

And the best part? They also offer a variety of other products, in different styles, colors and made from different materials (leather, silicone, bamboo, etc..) for devices such as Kindle or Nook readers, iPads and dozens more! Be sure to check them out and don't think twice before giving it a try! You won't regret!

Friday, November 1, 2013

I have recently received the newest addition to the Kobo e-readers family - the Kobo Aura - and, guys, let me just tell you that this is one of the best e-readers I've had the pleasure of reading on! I used to be a Kindle kind of gal, and while Kindle has some awesome features that Kobo does not *yet?* have, one thing that I didn't like was how unreliable all my Kindles turned out to be. Those of you Kindle users out there probably know what I'm talking about - frozen screens while trying to highlight a quote and eventual deaths by getting stuck on a random screensaver.

Kobo does not have these issues, or at least they are not as common as what you'd get with a Kindle. Personally, I have never experienced a frozen screen or a sudden black-out. I highlighted and shared plenty of quotes, spent hours reading, browsing online and playing around with different settings - and nothing weird or unexpected happened. I found both Kobo Aura and Kobo Aura HD to be extremely reliable.

Kobo Aura is small, compact and very light. It fits comfortably in your hand and you can spend hours reading on it without getting a cramp in your hand :)

I love the design! Quite honestly, I have never seen a smaller, more chic e-reader.

Kobo Aura sports something called ClarityScreen, has little to no glare and a great 6” high res Pearl E Ink screen for a print on paper reading experience even in direct sunlight. For night reading, the adjustable light works perfectly. I keep my brightness at about 25% and find it very easy on my eyes. Most importantly, thanks to the great resolution and fantastic E Ink screen, I can go on reading for hours and I don't get tired (as opposed to reading on iPad or Kindle Fire).

Another thing about the screen is its responsiveness to the touch. I swear I had a few instances when my hair would touch the screen and the page would turn. Kobo Aura is extremely sensitive and responsive, which also makes other things like highlighting or taking notes easy.

Customizable fonts and sizes, line spacings, margins and justification - all that allows you to improve your reading experience. Highlighting a single word automatically pops up its meaning in dictionary. You can highlight, make notes and *dog ear* pages. You can also share highlighted quotes on Facebook, which I think is a great idea, though due to publisher regulations there is a limit to the length of the quote you can post. If your quote is a longer one, it will be cut off at some point and only part of it will appear in your Facebook status. Still, nice and useful feature, that I hope will be improved in the future.

As far as getting files onto your Kobo is concerned, I find myself wishing for a better solution. So far, we have only three options: 1) purchase the book in Kobo's ebook store and have it delivered to your e-reader wirelessly, 2) connect your e-reader to your computer via cable and move the book through Adobe Digital Editions (for drm files from NetGalley, Edelweiss or your local library), or 3) connect your e-reader to your computer via cable and simply drag-n-drop your epub file onto the storage disk of your Kobo.

For bloggers who get lots of review copies in their mailboxes or simply get them via NetGalley or Edelweiss non of these options are good. I often find myself wishing for Kobo to come up with a system similar to what Kindle offers - i.e., using email to send books wirelessly onto e-readers via some sort of *cloud* service. Admittedly, this is my main and only issue with Kobo Aura so far.

Kobo Aura is quite the cool cat among e-readers. Kobo came up with some really awesome and fun features to make our reading experience even more enjoyable. Not only do we have book stats, where we can track our progress with a particular book or see how many books we've read so far, how many pages we've turned or even how long it took us on average to read one page, but we also get awards. YES, we get cool and quirky awards for many things - from reading way into wee hours, to reading during breakfast or dinner. It's a cute, experience-enhancing addition that I really enjoy :)

Kobo Aura is full of features. It allows you to categorize your books and put them in different folders. You can create reading lists and wishlists. You can take a look at books recommended for you based on what you've already read. You can download previews and easily access Kobo store.

A new and interesting feature that Kobo Aura now offers, is something called POCKET. An app that allows you to save an article found online (whether while browsing on Kobo, on your computer or on your phone - it's all synchronized), and access it on your e-reader. It's especially useful if, like me, you read blogs, websites, news etc.

Overall, I love my new Kobo Aura. If only there was an easier way of getting my books onto it, I would be 100% satisfied with it. Still, it's a great, affordable e-reader that I highly recommend. You will LOVE the E Ink screen and the many unique features for sure!

Hi there! I'm Evie! I'm a 20-something year old wife and mom to a beautiful baby-girl, Victoria. I am an avid reader, graphic designer and craft-loving, Supernatural and The Walking Dead obsessed coffee-lover. I love writing about my family, sharing honest opinions about products and services, and socializing with other moms and readers (or reader moms!).

I am the founder and owner (currently co-owner) of a largely successful book blog, Bookish.